”And So We Walked” is a Transformative and Spiritual Journey

April 28, 2023May 1, 2023 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

DeLanna Studi in “And So We Walked.” Photos by Patrick Weishampel/Blankeye

“And So We Walked”, by DeLanna Studi. Directed by Corey Madden. Produced by Octopus Theatricals. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston through April 30.

by Michele Markarian

“A true story is dangerous. Even if you’re the best storyteller, you can’t run from the truth”. Thus begins DeLanna Studi’s moving and personal take on her and her father’s six-week sojourn on the Trail of Tears, following the footsteps of their Cherokee ancestors, who were forced into relocation during the 1830s. During the course of the two-and-a-half-hour show, many intimate and historical truths are revealed as Studi weaves her personal narrative alongside that of the Cherokee Nation.

We All Walk The Trail of Tears in ‘And So We Walked’

April 27, 2023May 1, 2023 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

‘And So We Walked’ — Created and Performed by DeLanna Studi. Directed by Corey Madden; Scenic Design by John Coyne; Costume Design by Andja Budincich; Lighting and Projection Design by Norman Coates; Sound Design and Original Music by Bruno Louchouarn. Co-represented by Octopus Theatricals and Indigenous Performance Productions. Presented by Arts Emerson at the Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington St., Boston through April 30, 2023.

By Shelley A. Sackett

When the pre-written announcement acknowledging Indigenous and Enslaved Peoples is read prior to every local theatrical production, it often feels disconnected from the show that follows. Not so with Cherokee actress, artist, and activist DeLanna Studi’s stunning one-woman autobiographical presentation, ‘And So We Walked.”

With ‘The Orchard,’ Arlekin Players Theatre’s Igor Golyak Continues To Push The Artistic Envelope

November 6, 2022November 14, 2022 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Orchard’ at Emerson Paramount Center

‘The Orchard’ — Conceived and Directed by Igor Golyak, based on ‘The Cherry Orchard’ by Anton Chekhov. Anna Fedorova, Scenic Designer. Yuki Nakase Link, Lighting Designer. Oana Botez, Costume Designer. Alex Basco Koch, Projection Designer. Tei Blow, Sound Designer. Jakov Jakoulov, Composer. Tom Sepe, Robotics Designer. Presented by Groundswell Theatricals and Arlekin Players and its Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab, at Emerson Paramount Center, the Robert J Orchard Stage, 559 Washington St., Boston through November 13.

by Shelley A. Sackett

Anton Chekhov’s play, ‘The Cherry Orchard,’ opened at the Moscow Art Theatre on January 17, 1904, under the direction of the actor-director Konstantin Stanislavski. During rehearsals, the director rewrote Act Two, changing the play from Chekhov’s intended light and lively comedy into a tragedy. Chekhov is said to have disliked the Stanislavski production so much that he considered his play “ruined.”

One can’t help but wonder what the Russian playwright would make of ‘The Orchard,’ Igor Golyak’s creatively incomparable and technologically unparalleled reimagining of this iconic classic.

Bill Irwin Is Brilliant in ArtsEmerson’s Not-to-Be-Missed “On Beckett.”

October 30, 2022 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Bill Irwin in “On Beckett” at ArtsEmerson

‘On Beckett’ — Conceived and Performed by Bill Irwin. Produced by Octopus Theatricals; Scenic Design by Charles Corcoran; Costume Consultation by Martha Hally; Lighting Design by Michael Gottlieb; Sound Design by M. Florian Staab. Presented by Arts Emerson at the Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington St., Boston, MA through October 30.

by Shelley A. Sackett

Bill Irwin is a legendary actor, writer, director and clown artist. The Tony award-winner is as known for serious theatrical roles on Broadway as he is for his beloved Mr. Noodle on television’s “Elmo’s World.”

“Drumfolk” a Powerful Testimony to the Triumph of Spirit and Community

October 8, 2022October 8, 2022 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

“Drumfolk”, by Step Afrika! Directed by Jakari Sherman. Stephen M. Allen, Composer. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston through October 16.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Drumfolk”, having never been to a Step Afrika! Production, other than it must have something to do with drums, as the title suggests. What I got instead was a complete narrative experience of a period in history using dance, song, storytelling, and yes, drumming, not just with drums, but with the rhythm in the performers’ bodies. This rhythm, born when drums were forbidden to enslaved Africans, gave birth to the subsequent percussive movement known as “stepping”.

ArtsEmerson’s ‘Parable’ Brings Light to a Dystopian Future

April 22, 2022April 24, 2022 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Parable of the Sower’ at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre

‘Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower’ – Created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon; Co-Directed by Eric Ting & Signe V. Harriday;Music and Lyrics by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon; Music Direction by Toshi Reagon. Choreography by Millicent Johnnie; Scenic Design by Arnulfo Maldonado; Costumes by Dede M. Ayite; Lighting Design by Christopher Kuhl. Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St., Boston through April 24.

by Mike Hoban

As the U.S. and the rest of the world appears headed for a slide into a 21^st century version of the Dark Ages, propelled by corporate greed, a warped interpretation of the Bible and willful neglect of the planet, at least it’s fodder for some terrific music in the form of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. The post-apocalyptic sci-fi rock opera returns to the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre after a workshop concert version wowed audiences in 2017, and powered by a luminous cast, the show again delivers sustained brilliant musical moments.

ArtsEmerson Brings a Sensational “Dreaming Zenzile” to Boston

February 25, 2022February 25, 2022 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Dreaming Zenzile’ (Somi Kakoma in foreground)

by Michele Markarian

“Dreaming Zenzile” Devised by Somi Kakoma. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Produced by Arts Emerson, in partnership with Octopus Theatricals, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, New York Theatre Workshop, National Black Theatre, and McCarter Theatre Center, Emerson Paramount Theatre, 555 Washington Street, Boston through February 27.

“Zenzile – you have done it to yourself”. This is the name singer Miriam Makeba was given at birth, based on her mother’s difficult labor and recovery; the Xhosa word for a woman whose life moved forward on the wings of saying “yes” could not be more fitting. Based on the life of Zenzile Miriam Makeba, “Dreaming Zenzile” is a narrative concert that tells the incredible story of Miriam Makeba’s musical journey from South Africa to worldwide stage, both as musician and activist.

The Tension and Release of “Detroit Red”

February 7, 2020 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

(Eric Berryman in ArtsEmerson’s ‘Detroit Red’)

By Michele Markarian

“Detroit Red” by Will Power. Directed by Lee Sunday Evans. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston, through February 16.

A tense, noir-ish film clip of a man holding a gun in a downtown Boston jewelry store is superimposed across the stage. “It takes point two seconds for a gun to respond to your finger’s light touch”, begins the twenty-year old Malcom Little, aka Detroit Red, at the top of the world premiere of “Detroit Red”, which covers the years the young Malcolm X lived in Boston. His early life was troubled – a murdered father, a mother who suffered a nervous breakdown, an older sister with health complications – and his struggle to find his place in the world is marred by his treatment at the hands of white people.

ArtsEmerson’s ‘Shadow’ is Deceptively Profound

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

*The cast of* *ArtsEmerson’s* *‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’* *Photo: Jeff Busby*

By Mike Hoban

‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’ – Director: Bruce Gladwin; Creative Development Artists: Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Simon Laherty, Sonia Teuben & Victoria Marshall (This show was developed, in part, at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA). Presented by Back to Back Theatre in conjunction with ArtsEmerson at the Emerson Paramount Center, Jackie Liebergott Black Box, 559 Washington St. Boston through January 26.

It wasn’t until the final moments of The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes, the import to the ArtsEmerson stages from Australia’s Back to Back Theatre, that the meaning of the title of the production dawned on me – and then it was as startling clear as a slap to the face. To explain why would be to give away too much about this deceptively profound theater experience, but it’s in the telling of the story by performers that you don’t usually see on stage that makes Shadow such an unpredictable gem of a piece. Written and performed by a cast of “neuro-diverse” actors with intellectual disabilities, it is at various times educational, jolting, hilarious and thought-provoking – while never taking itself too serious, despite some tough subject matter.

ArtsEmerson’s One-of-A-Kind ‘An Iliad’ Is Not to Be Missed

November 21, 2019 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Denis O’Hare in ArtsEmerson’s ‘An Iliad’ – Photo by Joan Marcus

By Shelley A. Sackett

‘An Iliad’ – Written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare; Directed by Lisa Peterson; Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Marina Draghici; Lighting Design by Scott Zeilinski; Composer/Sound Design by Mark Bennett; Produced by Arts Emerson and Homer’s Coat in association with Octopus Theatricals at Emerson Paramount Center through November 24.

“An Iliad,” the brilliant play by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare in a lamentably short run at Emerson Paramount Center, is one phenomenal piece of theater. In a mere 100 minutes, on a simple stage with no props or costume changes, the virtuoso Denis O’Hare (with the help of bassist Eleonore Oppenheim) magically creates the story behind Homer’s epic poem about the tragic Trojan War. This is no ordinary dramatic experience. It is a magic carpet ride into the deepest power and charm that theater can offer. No wonder the painted muses above the magnificently renovated stage are all smiles. They know this audience is in for a one-of-a kind experience that will resonate long after their thunderous standing ovation finally fades.